"In all practices of this kind and any others which fly in the face of the general opinion of what is seemly. the profession must discipline itself if it is to be safe from official censorship.
"I rejoice to see signs that our profession organizations are bestirring themselves, and I hope that between them they will be able. as. other professions do, to maintain a standard of professional conduct which will be proof against all temptations to transgress."
The responsibility of the Press. concluded Mr. Spender, was never greater than it was to-day in the countries in which it remained free.
If we held our ground in the British Commonwealth, we should help others to recover what they had lost; if we failed we should bring destruction on many besides ourselves, Sir Stanley. Reed, "Times of India," declared that he would welcome a bill in Parliament to define the status of n journalists. The whole future status of the journalist depended on the proprietory element which would see that no journalist was asked to undertake a duty unworthy of his profession. or which brought his profession into contempt.
Sir Harry Britein said the complaint of intrusions on privacy was directed against a section of the Press only, but unfortunately, its action had tarred the whole of the Press. A scheme should be framed to black-list papers which went in for "private lives" news. "From what I am told by an old friend in the House of Commons, we had better do it ourselves before it is forced upon us from outside," he added.
Mr. Alan Pitt Robbins, Parliamentry Correspondent of "The Times," stated that the feeling in the House of Commons at the moment was extremely hostile to the Press as a whole because of the delinquencies of a very few people.
On the motion of Sir Stanley Reed. a resolution was carried requesting the Council of the Empire Press Union to take Mr. Spender's speeh into its special consideration, to "ake any steps which it might deem necessary to raise the status of the journalists of the Empire.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.